The weather! She has warmed here in NYC! The crocuses and daffodils and purple flowers that I can never identify are blooming in my front yard. The birds are singing and there are buds on the trees. Tis spring spring spring! To celebrate, we begin today with a poetic celebration of baseball (a very spring […]

Consider, if you will, the strange relationship that exists between a book jacket created in America vs. a book jacket created in the United Kingdom. Both are appealing to an audience that speaks primarily English. But the perception of what will sell/appeal in one country can vary widely from that of another. Over the years […]

As per usual there are some Wild Things links I’d love to share today. Lemme see here . . . Well we got a real stunner of a review over at Chapter 16. That’s some good and gorgeous stuff going down there. Phil Nel called us “Punchy, lively, and carefully researched.” The blog The […]

First up, my little sister. My daughter recently had her third birthday so my sis came up with a craft involving what she calls Do It Yourself Cupcakes. Each cupcake sported a teeny tiny cover of one of my child’s favorite books. Then we took them to her daycare where she delightedly set about pointing […]

Here we are on the cusp of summer. It always surprises me when the weather gets warm and yet the kids are still in school here in NYC. Still, they’ll be out soon enough, running into my libraries with their summer reading lists clenched in their hot little hands. Here in New York City each […]

Sometimes I do a little ALA Youth Media Awards wrap-up after all is said and done, but since Lori Ess and I were able to have our say immediately following the awards announcements, I feel like I’ve covered my bases. Moving on! Lest one be so caught up in the thrilling hullabaloo of the ALA […]

You know why I’m looking forward to 2014? It’s not the fresh start that comes with every turn of the globe. It’s not the incipient birth of my second child (I lie . . . it is that, but for the purposes of this piece we’re going to pretend that it’s not). It’s not the […]

Don’t you hate it when you’ve saved oodles of links for a Fusenews only to find your computer apparently ate them without informing you? Fun times. So if I promised some of you that I’d post something and then I didn’t, remind me of the fact. Clearly me brain is running on fumes. Stop. Before […]

Happy Tuesday to you, one and all! Hope your weather isn’t as bitingly cold as ours has been. Time to warm up with some fresh and festive children’s literature tidbits. Personally, I’m trying to figure out why I wrote today’s headline a couple days ago. I’m sure there was a reason for it. Hmmm. The […]

Today I shall begin by ripping out your heart and stomping it into tiny shreds upon the floor. You may be aware that for years I have worked with the real Winnie-the-Pooh toys at NYPL. You may also know that the real Christopher Robin had a serious falling out with his father about the books. […]

All the talk in the press and the news recently has concentrated on New York Public Library’s current children’s literary exhibit The ABC of It, as curated by Leonard Marcus. It is, justifiably, remarkable. But exit the exhibit and you’ll find that it’s not the only children’s literary piece going on in the library at […]

Fusenews Fusenews Fusey Oozy Fusenews Fusenews Fusenews Eat it up . . . . YUM!* Oh we are high spirits here in New York now that the weather has cooled down a tad. So let’s keep the party going strong. It’s news time! Undoubtedly many of you encountered the recent New York Times article “I’m […]

New Blog Alert: There’s a CCBC blog. Did you know that? I didn’t know that. I am, of course, perfectly aware that only a good 15% of my readers instantly can call to mind what CCBC even stands for. It’s the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and for years I’ve followed ccbc-net, their listserv. I must […]

Well a tip of the hat and an apology to Mr. Schu. Looks like he in the guise of Babymouse came to visit me at The Children’s Center at 42nd Street located in the main branch of NYPL. Alas, I am no longer in that location, having been picked up and dropped off in Long […]

First off, I have to suspect that after this week my blogging stats will be fairly healthy. First I wondered whither the 2013 middle grade black boys and then Sophie Blackall let me become the repository for some truly fantastic stories. Doubling back to that question about diversity in 2013 middle grades, author Varian Johnson […]

Podcasty Goodness

About A Fuse #8 Production

Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .